MLS – Big 5

New teams, new stadia, and some bad injury news made for another busy week in MLS, so here is our latest MLS – Big 5.

1) San Jose Christen New Stadium With a Win

San Jose enjoyed a fine first day out at the new Avaya Stadium picking up a 2-1 win at the expense of the increasingly depressing Chicago Fire.

The new Avaya Stadium (Getty Images)

The original Quakes decamped for Houston back in 2005 when it could not get a stadium deal that it liked. Coach Dominic Kinnear went with the team then, but now he is back and early returns are good.

Having vacated the league’s smallest stadium, the 10,525 capacity Buck Shaw, the Quakes are off to a 2-1 start. The new facility is still smallish, it holds 18,000, but it does have the largest outdoor bar in North America.

I’m not sure how that number was vetted, but in any case, it is a big bar. Enjoy the the game Quake fans and please drink responsibly.

2) Impact’s CCL Hero Porter Out

And we were just getting to know him. The former Princeton striker was not drafted until the Montreal Impact grabbed him at 45 in February’s MLS SuperDraft, but he wound up making a splash before regular season even began.

Cameron Porter looks like to be out for a long time. (Getty Images)

It was a late, late Porter goal that sent Montreal to the CCL semi final with an aggregate win over Mexico’s Pachuca, and the rookie continued to impress once the MLS campaign started.

Porter landed badly on the Gillette Stadium turf, and had to be stretchered off. The Impact picked up its first point of the season tying the Revolution 0-0, but the bigger story is Porter’s loss.

It looks like Porter will be out for a long stretch, costing Montreal a potential key contributor, and depriving fans around the league of the chance to watch this exciting young player grow.

Get well soon.

3) FC Dallas Start Fast

After missing out on the playoffs each of the past two years, 3-0-0 FC Dallas have started out like a team on a mission.

Blas Perez #7 has bagged 3 goals to his name thus far. (Getty Images)

Sure it’s early, but Blas Perez is hot with three goals, the always exciting Fabian Castillo has one goal and two assists, and Chris Seitz is playing well enough in goal to keep Dan Kennedy on the bench.

Like I said it’s early, but early or not, it looks like Oscar Pareja is building a pretty good team down in Frisco.

4) No Stopping MLS

If it seems like we’ve had this discussion before, it’s because we have. It is FIFA break time, yet MLS plays on. Like the band on the Titanic, MLS keeps on fiddling while so many of its players fill the lifeboats, headed off to join various national teams.

Many players will be missing from the MLS due to international call ups.(ISI Photos/John Todd)

How many you say? Including U23 and U20 players, the number is approaching 60. Scheduling issues are always a challenge, but c’mon MLS, would it be so bad to take a little break?

5) Minnesota Almost Official

The league recently announced that on Wednesday it will be in Minnesota to make a major announcement. With last weeks news that Minnesota United FC had pushed past the Minnesota Vikings as the apple of Don Garber’s eye, we can expect the marriage to be confirmed on Wednesday, and the Land of 1,000 Lakes to be granted an MLS franchise.

Minnesota United FC look favorites to be selected as the new MLS franchise.(Getty Images)

The Vikings aren’t happy about it and the state reportedly may not be too forthcoming with the funds, so we’ll have to wait and see how that plays out.

About Peter Nolan

Peter Nolan is a staff writer for the GotSoccer Magazine, covering MLS and other US leagues, He's GotSoccer's chief National Team Correspondent.